Live Through Me!

[BFD]

Hi there, I'd like the help of you techsters.

My work has just given me a $1000US allowance with which to buy a computer. I'd like to know what sort of machine I can get here in Thailand with that kind of cash.

Background:

The computer would basically be used for internet surfing, but I do play the occasioanal game here and there. I recently bought Neverwinter Nights 2 at MBK and it won't play on my laptop, as I need a 128mb videocard. I'd like to be able to play that game, and I'd like a computer that is modern enough that I won't be crying myself to sleep with NES emulators while my students are playing Halflife 7.

Other than that, I record some of my own music as a hobby using Nuendo. Also, I'd like to be able to burn DVDs, etc.

So, I was hoping to get your advice on what the best deal I can get for this kind of money is. I've searched through some of the online computer stores, but I cna't make heads or tails of most of the specs that they list. I noticed that Core Duo 1.83 processors seemsto be a hot commodity, but I really bow to anyone else's expertise in this matter.

Oh, last thing, all of this will have to be new equipment. In other words, I have to be able to show receipts for the stuff.

Thanks kindly folks,

BFD!

[cdnvic]

Intel Core Duo or AMD Athlon X2 along with a 256mb video card are your starting points. Some good off the shelf stuff from Acer, Dell, or HP should fall into that price range. Does the price of a monitor need to come out of that $1000?

[BFD]

Intel Core Duo or AMD Athlon X2 along with a 256mb video card are your starting points. Some good off the shelf stuff from Acer, Dell, or HP should fall into that price range. Does the price of a monitor need to come out of that $1000?

Yeah, monitor needs to be in that $1000, too. I don't think I need anything fancy; maybe a 17" LCD would be the fanciest I'd need. I'm fine with 15" LCD or 17" CRT, though.

Thanks,

BFD!

[mikeinminburi]

make sure you get a decent amount fo RAM.

kingston are a fairly decent make.

wont cost you that much really.

go for about 1048mb of ram. costs about 4-5k baht.

a decent hard drive wont steer you wrong either. probably sATA II or something. 80 gig size is about 2,000 baht.

also, a decent motherboard is vital if your going with a decent processor.

mine cost me 15,000 baht, and i got a pentium 4 dual, good motherboard, good graphics card (256mb)

1gig ram(kingston 667) 80 gig SATA II harddrive, LG dvd burner, a great tower with great cooling fans,

yeah fans are essential over here. as it gets very hot, then you need to keep your computer from over heating. make sure your computer box has enough fan's and its kept cold. espically if your playing games. ive gone through about 3 hard drives before i learnt my lesson.

monitor's are fairly decent here and wont cost you an arm and a leg.

my 17" crt was 3,500 second hand but its got a 6 month warranty, and its in great condition.

if you have the time, read arounf about building it your self, and then think about going over to Rangsit IT plaza. its close to ZEAR shopping centre.

its out by the don muang airport.

even for a small fee, there are plenty of foreigners here that would gladly build it for you if you wern't confeident to do it yourself.

bit of advice, DONT BUY A PRE BUILT COMPUTER FROM A SHOP....

basically from my experience,

thai people think white skin = loads of money.

you WILL get over charged and screwed about.

buy the parts seperatly and build it or get someone who is honest to do it for you.

[h90]

Hi there, I'd like the help of you techsters.

My work has just given me a $1000US allowance with which to buy a computer. I'd like to know what sort of machine I can get here in Thailand with that kind of cash.

Background:

The computer would basically be used for internet surfing, but I do play the occasioanal game here and there. I recently bought Neverwinter Nights 2 at MBK and it won't play on my laptop, as I need a 128mb videocard. I'd like to be able to play that game, and I'd like a computer that is modern enough that I won't be crying myself to sleep with NES emulators while my students are playing Halflife 7.

Other than that, I record some of my own music as a hobby using Nuendo. Also, I'd like to be able to burn DVDs, etc.

So, I was hoping to get your advice on what the best deal I can get for this kind of money is. I've searched through some of the online computer stores, but I cna't make heads or tails of most of the specs that they list. I noticed that Core Duo 1.83 processors seemsto be a hot commodity, but I really bow to anyone else's expertise in this matter.

Oh, last thing, all of this will have to be new equipment. In other words, I have to be able to show receipts for the stuff.

Thanks kindly folks,

BFD!

I just bought:

AMD X2 3600 (now running cool and silent at 4000 I think can be overclocked more).

Samsung SyncMaster 740B 17 inch LCD

1 GB r(2x512) am brand geil 800 Mhz

Ashrock mainboard

160 GB WD HD

Winfast Geforce 7300GT card

Costs incl VAT approx 28.000

With a DVD burner and maybe 1 GB more you are on the target.

[meadish_sweetball]

What case did you get h90?

[richard10365]

Forget the monitor. Buy a large flat screen tv but make sure you video card as some kind of video out on it. Or make sure the flat screen tv has a RGB input or some other compatible input. You might have to spend some of your own money for that tv though. LCD TVs are cheap now a days and if your internet connection is high speed then internet tv will be a lot nicer.

[cdnvic]

Even the best high definition TV won't have the same resolution capabilities of a decent monitor.

[BFD]

Hi guys, just wondering what you think about this deal:

Aspire E560#L7-E4301L

Intel®Core™2 Duo Processor E4300 (1.8Ghz/2MB L2Cache/FSB800)

1024 MB DDR-II (expandable up to 2.0 GB)

160GB HDD SATA

DVD/RW16x (DVD Writer with Dual Layer Function)

ATi Radeon PCI-Express Card X1300 512MB with TV-Out/DVI

9-in-1 Media Reader + IEEE1394

56k ITU V.90 Fax Modem (internal)

Integrated Ethernet 10/100 (LAN Built-in)

4 Hi-Speed USB Ports (ver 2.0)

Acer LCD Monitor 17” (3 Years warranty for parts)

Linux Program console mode

3 Years Warranty (Parts & Labor)

The total cost is B33,900 (B36,273 w/VAT). It's slightly overbudget, but I could shell out the extra $100 or so.

However, I am up in Nonthaburi and Rangsit IT is close enough to warrant a Saturday trip. Do you think I'll do substantially better there than buying one from DATA IT in Ngamwongwan Mall?

All your help so far has been very much appreciated.

Cheers,

BFD!

[cdnvic]

Can you get by on Linux, or do you need a Windows OS? That particular model is fine, but you'd have to shell out on top of that price if you need Windows.

[BFD]

Can you get by on Linux, or do you need a Windows OS? That particular model is fine, but you'd have to shell out on top of that price if you need Windows.

Think I'll be okay for the OS side of things. I have a legit copy of XP Pro from home that I can install. I don't know if I'm too interested in Vista at this time.

So, you think this is a decent enough deal? It's my school's money, so I don't mind if it's 1-2K over priced. As long as it's in the same neighbourhood, I'm cool with it.

My only concern really is the videocard. I see that Tom's Hardware doesn't even have the x1300 rated on their site; the only have the PRO and x1300XT versions. Perhaps I can get a videocard upgrade, if it would be worth my while.

Again, thanks for all of your help everyone.

BFD!

[cdnvic]

It got a decent review at TweakTown for low cost cards, saying it performed surprisingly well.

My experience with Acer hardware has always been good, but you'll probably have to shop around the area a bit to determine how good the price is.

Have you asked others at your school for their recomendations?

[BFD]

It got a decent review at TweakTown for low cost cards, saying it performed surprisingly well.

My experience with Acer hardware has always been good, but you'll probably have to shop around the area a bit to determine how good the price is.

Have you asked others at your school for their recomendations?

The price that I quoted is right off the Acer website. I was thinking of heading down to DATA IT in Ngamwongwan sometime this weekend. In general, do the retail shops jack the prices up significantly? I ask because my experience in Canada shows that the retails stores are usually around the same price as the manufacturer and sometimes even slightly cheaper.

How are DATA IT stores in general?

Thanks for the TweakTown idea. I can see that the card isn't too bad at all.

My fellow teachers are... technophobes, so not a lot of help there.

Not like this forum; tons of great advice here!

BFD!

[Firefoxx]

40k is borderline for a good system, especially a gaming system. Neverwinter nights needs a pretty good system to play well. If you actually want quality, don't buy brandname systems. A breakdown of price:

Quality power supply: 3,000

Quality case: 3,000

19" LCD monitor: 8,000

250GB SATA HDD: 3,500

KB/mouse/etc: 1,000

Good 3D card: 7,000

Asus P5B-E mainboard: 7,000

Intel Core duo CPU: 7,600

2GB DDRII memory: 6,000

A bit over 40k, but not much, and you'll get something which will last and not break down (please don't skimp on the PSU/case, you'll regret it).

TVs, even flat panel ones, were not designed for use as a full time computer monitor. Don't try to use them as one. It just doesn't work out in the long run. Occasional use is fine.

The ATI 1300 (even the XT version) is a very low-end card. You'll be able to play games at low resolution/detail on it, but that's about it. You should aim for a X1650 or better.

[Chiuey]

check out Atec computers. They're locally assembled with a decent warranty. You can start with one of their base sets and ask for upgrades, they'll install everything for you. You can even go buy parts to "add-on" to the base sets and ask them to install it for you too. We've got 2 in my office and I have been extremely happy with them. Probably the most reliable (low price) computers I have EVER used.

http://www.atec.co.th/xzite_nx7600.html

[cdnvic]

If you actually want quality, don't buy brandname systems.

That's a pretty broad statement to make. Plenty of well made hardware out there. Moreover, when you make them in the thousands you get better consistency and workmanship unless its a cheapo brand. My experience with Acers tells me that they definitely know how to put quality hardware together.

On the other hand if you don't know what you're doing its easy for a shop to slap together an expensive collaberation of hardware that doesn't work well, and to a non-techy that can be a huge nightmare.

[BFD]

Thanks again for everyone's advice. I think I'll try to head into Zeer Rangsit sometime soon and put a system together myself.

Barring that, can anyone tell me where there is an Atec in Nonthaburi. My limited Thai reading skills tells me that there a few listed in Nonthaburi on the website, but I can't get any more specific than that.

Cheers,

BFD!

[cdnvic]

Thanks again for everyone's advice. I think I'll try to head into Zeer Rangsit sometime soon and put a system together myself.

Make sure you have someone who really knows their hardware and not just someone who's going to sell you the stuff with the best margins, regardless of compatibility.

[meadish_sweetball]

(please don't skimp on the PSU/case, you'll regret it).

Very true!!

[Clipped]

why not get a laptop for that allowance?

[penguin]

why not get a laptop for that allowance?

Neverwinter Nights 2 won't play on his current laptop, and to play it you need at least a Radeon 9700Pro or GeForce 6600 card. The Acer desktop mentioned for 33k comes with a Radeon X1300 card which is probably not up to it either. Desktops are usually considerably cheaper than their laptop equivalent so to get a laptop that will play the game okay will mean going well over budget.

[quiksilva]

X1300 series is the absolute minimum GFX card you should buy, if you are going to do any gaming whatsoever. Try a card that is at least compatible with Shader Model 3.0.

I run an X800 and whilst Im okay with many games (BF2 etc), I cant play newer releases like Rainbow Six Vegas at all...

Look at the X1600 or X1650 both are great and will serve you well for quite some time to come.

[markuk]

If you actually want quality, don't buy brandname systems.

That's a pretty broad statement to make. Plenty of well made hardware out there. Moreover, when you make them in the thousands you get better consistency and workmanship unless its a cheapo brand. My experience with Acers tells me that they definitely know how to put quality hardware together.

On the other hand if you don't know what you're doing its easy for a shop to slap together an expensive collaberation of hardware that doesn't work well, and to a non-techy that can be a huge nightmare.

I agree with this i have had both brand name and assembled PC's the one i currently use is a HP, brought from a HP agent here in Thailand. I may have paid a slight bit more for it but i know it works, there have been no issues at all in 2 years with it and would highly recomend them.

When i have had assembled PC's in the past you get a minor problem with something and then you spend ages trying to find the correct drivers etc to get it back working, also in general they never seem to run quite as well as a brand name.

The brand name PC's are tested and designed to work and they do. No going back for me - i will get another brand name PC next time (prob next year) and then customize with more RAM, better video card and extra HDD's.

[BFD]

Hi, just wanted to say thank you for all the advice you folks have given me. I got myself a computer on the weekend, here are the specs:

Computer Microline Pentium D 3.4 GHz

Intel Pentium D 945 3.4 GHz socket 775

Mainboard Intel P5PL2/C sound/Lan

DDR II Ram 2 GB (1GBx2) KVR400D2N3K2/2GB Kingston (Lifetime warranty)

Harddisk 320 GB SATA 7200 RPM seagate

DVD-RW 20X lite-on

CASE G-View with power supply 450w.

VGA CArd NVidia 7600/512MB EN7600GS Silan/HTD/512

Monitor 19" LCD SAMSUNG 940 N (war. 3 years)

Keyboard + Mouse Microsoft wireless

Total cost was B41,000, so I was a touch over budget, but I think it's worth it. Neverwinter Nights 2 runs like a dream and I don't know if the world contains anything more beautiful than my 19" LCD monitor.

I found the shop by following the A-Tec link posted earlier, but found that the company (Microline) had custom-made PCs that had enough power and upgreadeability to suit my needs. If anyone is interested in a new computer, I strongly recommend this place. 02-962-5106. I was helped by Khun Nan.

Again, thanks to everyone.

BFD!

[cdnvic]

Good luck with it...sounds sweet

[Firefoxx]

About my statement about brandname computers, it's just an opinion based on my experiences. My experiences say that unless you're buying *really* high end stuff, you're going to get a worse deal with a name brand computer than a generic assembled computer. Why? Proprietary hardware, meaning that you get a case which usually can't fit any other kind of mainbard, a mainboard which has limited functionality, hardware which requires drivers from the maker of the computer (and only them), fittings which are non-standard. The list goes on. The *good* thing about brand name computers is that they usually look good and they have good warranty (usually). Yes, there will be those that disagree, but we're all entitled to our opinions, no?

BFD, the Pentium D is the previous generation CPU. It's hot, it's inefficient, and it's quite slower than the current Core Duo (it's a different architecture). *Don't* look at the GHZ, since these days it means very little. The mainboard you're getting is also old. The case you're getting (Gview) is a cheapo case with VERY BAD cooling. The VGA card you're getting is again an older generation card.

The list I gave come out to around the same price, but you get much better specs.